22/Jul/2008
EBR Schools Completing Work
By:
In October of 2005, the East Baton Rouge Parish School
System received a nearly $9 million federal grant to fund the Safe Schools/Healthy
Students program.
Now the grant is
running out.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor. Kids today come to us with so much baggage and it’s just not enough to offer only reading and writing,” said Patricia Friedrich, project director of Safe Schools/Healthy Students. “This grant allows schools to become full service schools. We are meeting students’ needs socially, emotionally and academically across the district.”
Under the United States Board of Education grant provisions,
the program does not provide the option to re-apply for another similar
grant.
As the grant’s final year ends, the hope is for East Baton
Rouge Parish schools to sustain the Safe Schools/Healthy Students program and
carry forward to continue to see the positive changes.
According to Friedrich, the curriculum will
continue no matter what, as I Care will step in if any component is
struggling.
The only issue will be
whether the school system will find money in the budget to maintain the other programs.
A Safe, Caring
Environment
The program united the Capital Area Human Service District,
the
The grant provided funding for curriculums and services aimed at enhancing the social and emotional well-being of all students in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system and to help them succeed academically.
“Research has shown schools that implement these kinds of
programs see students’ grades improve.
If it’s a nice calm environment, students are going to learn more.
Every single school and every single grade
[in the
Prevention Curricula
Prevention Curricula is one example of the kinds of things
the grant made possible.
It is provided to all students of every grade.
The curricula help students develop social skills. The program focuses on topics such as drug and substance abuse, bullying and positive decision-making. Each message is tailored for different age groups. In addition, the grant employed five prevention specialists assigned to assist schools in implementing the program and evaluating the program’s effectiveness.
The grant also supplied violence prevention security equipment such as walkie-talkies, hand-held and portable metal detectors and security cameras.
“This equipment doesn’t necessarily mean there is a problem. We just want the kids to know that they are safe. This is about prevention,” stressed Friedrich.
Mental Health
Services
For students with much larger issues, such as depression,
suicide, and anger management, the grant provided for the employment of
master-level mental health counselors.
Currently, there are 25 schools in the district that have an on-campus
mental health counselor to offer guidance and encouragement to the students who
may not receive that kind of attention at home.
“I have had principles write and tell me that this [service] is the best thing they have in their school,” said Friedrich.
The Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant also made way for
the Juvenile Re-Entry Program.
The
“The idea is that once students transition back from juvenile detention, they’re more at risk for not making it,” explained Friedrich. “The hope is to get those kids settled in and help them solve problems before they either commit another crime or drop out because they’re behind.”
The re-entry coordinator has seen more than 30 students who are in the re-entry program and returning to school from juvenile detention.
Because Safe Schools/Healthy Students is a data driven grant, research and confidential surveys are conducted every year to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. “The data shows that the students’ perception of drugs and safety and fighting is going in the right direction. Every year it has gotten better and better. They’re more likely now to say that they’re not doing drugs and that’s really exciting,” said an enthused Friedrich.
For more information on the Safe Schools/Healthy Students program, visit: http://icare.ebrschools.org/explore.cfm/sshshome/
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